Would a native say that he wants to be useful (for helpful)?

cftranslate · Post by **cftranslate** » Sun May 23, 2004 10:34 am

Would a native say that he wants to be useful (for helpful)?
Thanks

Andrew Patterson · Post by **Andrew Patterson** » Sun May 23, 2004 12:58 pm

No, but he/she might say, "Can I be of any use?"

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Sun May 23, 2004 6:50 pm

If a native wanted to be useful he would say "yes, bwana"

I can think of contexts where a native spealker would use the phrase:
"he became a doctor because he wanted to be a useful member of society"
"Little children like to feel they're useful".

If you're offering help you would say
"Can I be of use?" or "Can I be of any help?".

Tessa Olive · Post by **Tessa Olive** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 12:23 am

Someone can say, "Make yourself useful and hand me that spanner"
meaning Help me by passing me that tool.
"When I visit my friend (who has a heap of screaming kids) I like to make myself useful" (i.e. helpful)

When praising someone, I would generally say 'You're very helpful.' I wouldn't say "You're very useful" (to me) as this feels a bit exploitative.

I can say "He's very useful around the house" i.e he's helpful, he fixes things, he changes the light bulbs, he washes up etc.

Tessa